Sunday, June 08, 2014

Pair of PKs Sees FCKC Top Boston

FC Kansas City (6-4-3 21 pts) moves to a 3 game winning streak and 5 games undefeated with a 2-0 win over Boston Breakers (2-8-0 6 pts) in front of 1,457 fans tonight. Lauren Holiday capitalized on two penalty kicks in the first half. The first penalty came from Amy Rodriguez being fouled and the second from Erika Tymrak being fouled. This match brings the aggregate goal total between the two clubs to 4-0, continuing FC Kansas City’s shutout of Boston in the 2014 National Women's Soccer League regular season.

The first half saw both goals, the first coming in the 14th minute when Rodriguez was tripped up just inside the box and a foul was called. Holiday stepped up to take the resulting penalty kick and easily netted it to take the lead. The goal boosted FC Kansas City’s confidence and saw a clear momentum definition in favor of the Blues. A few attempts on goal from both sides filled the time between goals for Kansas City. In the 33rd minute, Tymrak took on two defenders in the box, she tried to sneak in the open space but was taken down for a foul. Holiday once again stepped up to the line and went the opposite way to throw off Boston goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher for the second and final goal of the night.

The second half was a midfield battle from both sides. FC Kansas City trying to maintain the lead while having defenders like Becky Sauerbrunn and Kassey Kallman make runs in to the attacking third of the pitch. The Breakers still challenged the Blues with attempts that kept the fans on the edge of their seat. Amy LePeilbet saw her return on Wednesday entered the game in the 63rd minute and saw more playing time. Kansas City goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart made picture perfect saves throughout the night, proving she is one of the best in the league. Rookie Mandy Laddish made her professional debut entering the match in the 87th minute for Holiday. Boston had a close call in the final minutes when Nikki Phillips tried to contain a bouncing ball but the Breakers had a close range shot. The final shot went high over the net and kept the score at 2-0 as the final whistle sounded.